‘Lumad’ give Pope title of elder for backing tribes

DAVAO CITY—Lumad leaders who had travelled to Tacloban for the papal visit had decided to confer on Pope Francis the title Apo (Elder) Edsila (light) for his love of the indigenous peoples and his respect for the values and beliefs that they have held dear for so long, the Mindanao indigenous group Kalumaran said.

Dulphing Ogan, secretary general of Kalumaran, also hailed the Pope for bringing the “voice of the indigenous peoples from the margins to the center,” when the Pope mentioned the indigenous peoples in his Malacañang speech.

“He reminded the President that our rights are inalienable,” Ogan said in reaction to the Pope’s message. “It was like saying, you take away our ancestral domains in favor of big mining, you take away our ethnicity and humanity,” Ogan said in a text message to Inquirer.

“We thank the Pope for championing our rights,” he added. “Our conferment of the title Apo Edsila has become more meaningful,” he said.

Bagobo chieftain Monico Cayog, 77, also compared Pope Francis with a highly-esteemed lumad elder. Cayog described the Pope’s penchant to break the barriers dividing him and the people, as one of the “characteristics of a true elder.”

“The Pope’s propoor and pro-environment principles are akin to an elder’s teachings and wisdom which is centered on people and the earth,” he said.

Ogan, a B’laan, had performed the conferment during a panubadtubad (ritual) on Friday evening, on the eve of Pope Francis’ visit to Tacloban.

Dubbed as the “gathering of the poor,” the ritual was witnessed by Catholic nuns belonging to the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (Samin) and thousands of Yolanda survivors.

Edsila, a term used by Higaonon and Talaandig tribes living in the mountains around the Pulangi River in central and northcentral Mindanao, means “light, sunrise or dawn of a new day.” Ogan said the term signifies hope, newness and change.

“We are bestowing on him the title Apo Edsila since he is worthy of high esteem with his love for us, indigenous peoples, and for his respect for the values and beliefs that we have held sacred since time immemorial,” said Ogan.

He called the Pope’s much-anticipated encyclical on climate change as a “breath of fresh air for indigenous peoples” because it will bring to the fore issues of ancestral domain and the violation of their human rights.

“We look up to the Pope to usher in newness and transformation in this global system that perpetuates greed, exploitation, and oppression, the very opposite of mercy and compassion,” said Ogan.

“Pope Francis, you are truly worthy to be called our Apo Edsila,” he said.

“The Pope’s indictment of the pitfalls of capitalism is an affirmation of our indigenous values of collectivism and stewardship of Mother Earth,” Ogan added. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao